Rides and Races - Toronto Fixed

^^^
I dunno the name of the bean, but Alternative Grounds on Roncesvalles has some great coffee and espresso beans. It is fair trade coffee, meaning that the growers get a fair price and are not raped a la Starbucks. Check it out, also, if you are near Roncesvalles, there is another coffee shop called Cherry Bomb and the owner is a bike nerd and has a bike hung on the wall. He changes it every month or so; right now it is one of those inverted-fork racer things, but he had a gorgeous Cinelli raod bike up there a few months ago.

Roncesvalles is my hood, man (boustead ave). i often hang out at Alternative Grounds, and their coffee is decent but i can't remember if their espresso roast is any good. maybe i'll stop in there today and give it a try. i'll have to check out cherry bomb, for the bikes if nothing else. we need a jet fuel-type coffee shop in the west end...

what part of roncey do you live in? shout if you want to ride sometime....

locally... http://www.alternativegrounds.com/show.php

coffee online (& eastside)... http://www.merchantsofgreencoffee.com/catalog/

as well... faema (on dupont), jet fuel (on parliament), balzacs (distillery district), roastery (liberty village), rectory (toronto island)...

actually i stopped in to the Faema place on my way home from work last week. pretty cool stuff there; i don't have an espresso machine but being in there made me want one! especially one of the old italian chrome jobs with the hand pump. a work of art that makes coffee; what more could you ask for? didn't try their coffee though, it look like mostly that vaccum-packed stuff you can buy at the grocery store.

two thumbs up also for jet fuel and balzacs...

Kick Ass is my current favourite! a darkish roast with some medium mixed in. very flavourful. best made in a french press coarsely ground. you won't be dissapointed.

Thanks man....we are a simple drip family the wife and I....lol....
A nice press wouldn't be so hard in the morning.

maybe i should mention that i don't have a proper espresso machine but one of those stove-top pots... a moka pot i think is the right term...

I have no machine whatsoever..... I pour water into the paper filter into the cup.

Kick Ass is my current favourite! a darkish roast with some medium mixed in. very flavourful. best made in a french press coarsely ground. you won't be dissapointed.

Exactly how I prepare it.. :) That's the stuff by Kicking Horse Coffee, right? It's also fair-trade / organic / Canadian.

If there's any other tea-drinkers in the house, they also make really great fair-trade / organic tea under the name "coup de thé" (such a good name). The Earl Grey is fantastic!

Exactly how I prepare it.. :) That's the stuff by Kicking Horse Coffee, right? It's also fair-trade / organic / Canadian.

If there's any other tea-drinkers in the house, they also make really great fair-trade / organic tea under the name "coup de thé" (such a good name). The Earl Grey is fantastic!

yup, that's kicking horse stuff. i tried their "grizzly claw", another dark roast. i also tried their espresso blend but i wasn't as impressed as with their others.

i stick with twinings for all my tea needs. i'm not as much of a tea snob as i am a coffee snob though...

The stovetops still make a decent enough coffee.. that's what I use as well. All those Italian grandmothers can't be wrong, can they? :)

I'd like to pick up a proper machine some day, but at this point I'd have to look into a financing plan. :P Plus being a 9 to 5'er right now it doesn't seem to make sense to spend all that money on a machine I'll only use once a day. I'm still stuck with spending money or drinking office coffee otherwise.

Coffee has just GOTTA have that POW ZING BLAMO kinda quality to it.

hence the paper filter into the cup? ;)

Gimme a Melita #4 and I'm good to go.

The stovetops still make a decent enough coffee.. that's what I use as well. All those Italian grandmothers can't be wrong, can they? :)

I'd like to pick up a proper machine some day, but at this point I'd have to look into a financing plan. :P Plus being a 9 to 5'er right now it doesn't seem to make sense to spend all that money on a machine I'll only use once a day. I'm still stuck with spending money or drinking office coffee otherwise.

yeah, that's kind of the way i feel. cheapest pump-driven machines appear to be $300+. plus you would want a decent grinder. my $10 stove top pot from chinatown does well enough that i can spend the extra cash on beans.
someday though, maybe if i ever buy a house i'll have one hooked up to the plumbing. for now though, must save for school.

Coffee has just GOTTA have that POW ZING BLAMO kinda quality to it.

i think the only coffee i've had that i can describe that way is the espresso from jet fuel. after sipping on a few shots of those last summer while watching the tour i actually started to get the shakes...

the only thing that i could think of that would be stronger is this:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/shotindark

i'm sure all of you yahoos have tried the vietnamese filtered coffee? try drinking that straight.. yikes. the little filter pots are cheap in chinatown, and all of the saigon-sub shops sell brands of vietnamese beans. or you could use your own. the condensed milk can get pricey though. nothing like one of those on ice on a summer's day.

i'm sure all of you yahoos have tried the vietnamese filtered coffee? try drinking that straight.. yikes. the little filter pots are cheap in chinatown, and all of the saigon-sub shops sell brands of vietnamese beans. or you could use your own. the condensed milk can get pricey though. nothing like one of those on ice on a summer's day.

when you ask for a coffee at pho hung that's what they bring you. i just bought a new espresso pot last week and the store i bought it from had those filters beside them. i dunno, i like firing up the stove and listening for the gurlge. maybe it's the italian / cyling heritage thing but i loves me some stovetop moka!

I think it might be that I'm quite incapable of operating machinery until I get some caffeine into my system. Toaster and a frying pan that's about it, the the water must be on the boil while I do make the kids breaky.

Random callback to the Spectrum discussion. Dropped the frames off today, and it turns out I was under-quoted (is that even a word?). It'll be 75 bucks per frame. Ready in a week. Still not bad though. Boink! (for the lack of a better way to end this post...).

Salt spring island coffee is a good packaged option too. We frequented the roasting house this past summer on the island while on a bike tour.

PC The Great Canadian Coffee. It’s great! Coffee’s coffee couldn’t care less. Beer on the other hand well...

speaking of which.. what's everyone drinkin' in beer these days? I'm totally loving the St. Abroise Oatmeal Stout.. great Winter beer!

actually i stopped in to the Faema place on my way home from work last week. pretty cool stuff there; i don't have an espresso machine but being in there made me want one! especially one of the old italian chrome jobs with the hand pump. a work of art that makes coffee; what more could you ask for? didn't try their coffee though, it look like mostly that vaccum-packed stuff you can buy at the grocery store.

they use ILLY COFFEE! some of the finest italian joe around...definitely not the vacuum-packed stuff from the grocery store. http://www.illy.com/

speaking of which.. what's everyone drinkin' in beer these days? I'm totally loving the St. Abroise Oatmeal Stout.. great Winter beer!

kirin `golden hop` http://www.kirin.co.jp/brands/chilled/html/goldenhop.html
http://mt.mizba.net/files/2005-10-08/goldenhop.jpg

yebisu `malt beer` http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/yebisu.html
http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/images/yebisu.jpg

Yeah St. Amboise Oatmeal Stout!!!! It was akward cause I ran into guiness the other day and he was all like "why don't you drink me anymore?" I had to tell him it's me not him... but really it's cause he doesn't have that sweet coffee aftertaste. I'm sorry Guiness, I never meant to hurt you.

i mix my Guiness with strong bow cider. Other wise nothing to exotic.
ale, lager sleemans, brick brewing co. didn’t mean to hijack the coffee talk.
Cheers

they use ILLY COFFEE! some of the finest italian joe around...definitely not the vacuum-packed stuff from the grocery store. http://www.illy.com/

shoot, i had no idea they used illy. i just poked my head into the cafe and didn't see much happening. man, that stuff is old school european good. expensive, but good.

speaking of which.. what's everyone drinkin' in beer these days? I'm totally loving the St. Abroise Oatmeal Stout.. great Winter beer!

that oatmeal stout is very fine indeed. in fact all the st ambroise stuff is good. i like their pale ale as well.
i'm also really digging Hockley Dark Ale, from Hockely valley brewing. really dark colour, traditional ale taste with a chocolate aftertaste. and if i want to drink on the cheap, the least expensive can of palatable beer the lcbo has at the moment is Warsteiner, a german lager (white can, grey writing, look for it). at a $1.90/500ml can you can't go wrong. better than stella, IMHO.

that's what I usually use at home as well.. tasty!

hmmm... I'll have to be on the look out for Warsteiner.

with all this coffee talk going on, i thought this might be of interest to some...call them or check out their website for more information. it is on FEBRUARY 15.

>Subject: Fwd: Is your coffee fresh? How about green? - Last week to
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>Merchants of Green Coffee
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This one has never been built up and the pics that I received show a really nice pearl-white colour. I won't be buying it or anything, but 450$ for an unbuilt steel track frame isn't too nuts nowadays. How is your cambio? Like it? Is it an offshoot of Gardin or was Gardin just the supplier for the brand in Canada? Thanks.

yes.. my cambio has a pearly white with a purple.. hmm i'll post a pic of it (hav eto take the shot first) next time... it's a nice frame, as well as any i have. the guy i bought it from said it was made in italy, and he insisted; makes sense, considering cambio components were made in italy too.

sd

that oatmeal stout is very fine indeed. in fact all the st ambroise stuff is good.

all agreed; the mcauslan st. ambroise oatmeal stout is simply the best beer i've ever had.

also like fuller's london porter. very similar to the oatmeal.

sd

Random callback to the Spectrum discussion. Dropped the frames off today, and it turns out I was under-quoted (is that even a word?). It'll be 75 bucks per frame. Ready in a week. Still not bad though. Boink! (for the lack of a better way to end this post...).
Just for the record....Byers-Bush...the powdercoaters I use most often, will do a one colour coat, INCLUDING a complete dip and sandblast, for $75. I have had over 30 frames done there and they do good work. Unless you LIKE stripping frames by hand with chem stripper.....I know I don't.

all agreed; the mcauslan st. ambroise oatmeal stout is simply the best beer i've ever had.

also like fuller's london porter. very similar to the oatmeal.

sd
With all this talk about coffee and beer I am surprised no-one has mentioned Mill Street Coffee Porter. They brew it with Balzacs espressso beans and actually has a caffeine kick. Not that I have gotten jittery from drinking 10 before or anything.

...or the c'est what? (on front street) coffee porter. my bad.

http://www.cestwhat.com/images/cporter.jpg

With all this talk about coffee and beer I am surprised no-one has mentioned Mill Street Coffee Porter. They brew it with Balzacs espressso beans and actually has a caffeine kick. Not that I have gotten jittery from drinking 10 before or anything.

Yeah, the alcohol and coffee even themselves out I think. :)

I know this has been mentioned a million times, but we really need to get a group together to go out to Forest City Velodrome. I ran into Franek (sp) again this morning on my ride in to work, and he asked if I had made it out yet, and damnit, I haven't! :P Is there a time period that's good or bad for people? Maybe we could plan for a weekend in March..? There's a Track 1 session every Saturday afternoon from 2:00 - 4:30. We could hit that and then pool back to the city for some beers somewhere. I have a car and would be more than happy to transport 3 of you yahoo's out to London for a share of gas money. I don't have a rack though, so we'll be forced to do the rental thing (which is fine by me anyway).

Maybe I should start another thread.

Kick Ass is my current favourite! a darkish roast with some medium mixed in. very flavourful. best made in a french press coarsely ground. you won't be dissapointed.

Hey Jeremy, how much coffee do you put in your press? Do you just have the smaller single-cup Bodum? It says to put one scoop in, but I generally find that kind of weak. I fill the water up to the bottom of the metal band holding on the handle.

kirin `golden hop` http://www.kirin.co.jp/brands/chilled/html/goldenhop.html
yebisu `malt beer` http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/yebisu.html


fixedude, that ebisu is some goood sheeeit. i should've brought back a couple of cans.. i should've brought back a LOT of stuff but we won't go there. i did nick a couple of ebisu glasses from an izakaya though! heheh... suntory malts is good too in a similiar vein. how's the winter brew this year? it's too bad japanese beer totally flies under the radar in north america.
about coffee: i dig lavazza, but nothing beats freshly roasted and ground coffee. i've got a bodum and a moka and a buddy of mine in japan who does alot of home roasting suggests tasty results can be yielded from a hot-air popcorn machine. it's a pain in the ass to roast over an element.

I've heard the popcorn popper method works well also.. and can't you just do it in your oven?

I think I'll invest in a quality grinder before I invest in a fancy coffee/espresso maker. According to coffeegeek.com, the grinder is basically as important as the espresso maker (for espresso especially).

Yeah, the alcohol and coffee even themselves out I think. :)

I know this has been mentioned a million times, but we really need to get a group together to go out to Forest City Velodrome. I ran into Franek (sp) again this morning on my ride in to work, and he asked if I had made it out yet, and damnit, I haven't! :P Is there a time period that's good or bad for people? Maybe we could plan for a weekend in March..? There's a Track 1 session every Saturday afternoon from 2:00 - 4:30. We could hit that and then pool back to the city for some beers somewhere. I have a car and would be more than happy to transport 3 of you yahoo's out to London for a share of gas money. I don't have a rack though, so we'll be forced to do the rental thing (which is fine by me anyway).

Maybe I should start another thread.
If we get organized...cough,cough, I have room for 5 guys and bikes in my van. I always take at least 2 guys from my team...so that leaves 2 spots. My buddy Doug goes down with us as well and has room for 3 plus bikes. Maybe we can really get our ship together and get a whole bunch o guys down on the same week-end. That would be fantabulistic! If we don't have a ton o guys the need to rent will be avoided. The rentals aren't total crap but I for one far prefer to ride my own bike. If you are a total noob to velodromes the rental option might be better so the unforseen crash doesn't mess up yer own ride.

Well yeah, just keep us noobs posted. I'd love to get out there, but I don't want to drive out and ride by myself. :) If I'm going to embarass myself, I'd rather be able to laugh about it later with the witnesses. :P

With all this talk about coffee and beer I am surprised no-one has mentioned Mill Street Coffee Porter. They brew it with Balzacs espressso beans and actually has a caffeine kick. Not that I have gotten jittery from drinking 10 before or anything.

i like that coffee porter too. i was mad when they stopped selling it in stubbies. i like their stock ale better though. tastes kind of like ex would if it was good...

Hey Jeremy, how much coffee do you put in your press? Do you just have the smaller single-cup Bodum? It says to put one scoop in, but I generally find that kind of weak. I fill the water up to the bottom of the metal band holding on the handle.

the bodum i have came with a scoop to measure with; it looks roughly tablespoon-sized (from a measuring spoon set) . i usually do two heaping spoonfulls of those and then grind the beans coarse from there, then fill to the top of the metal band. coffee geek says to try stirring it with a chopstick before you press it down; that seems to bring all the nice oils to the surface. i think i have a "6 cup" french press which actually ends up filling 1.5 of the giant sized mugs that i stole from the cafe when i used to work at indigo.

Damn, I'm at work and totally want a nice coffee. There isn't one to be found here though, no sir.

I use a one cup bodum at work. I'll have to actually measure it. I just got so I eyeball the level in the grinder. Before I ride my fixed gear.

Damn, I'm at work and totally want a nice coffee. There isn't one to be found here though, no sir.

not even a star****s near by?

at work, we've got those little packs of ground coffee. one flavour is called "coffee shop" if you can believe that.

I'm at 1 Yonge, and I never leave the building for the most part. It's all crap around here and waaaaaay too $$$$$. The cafeteria is owned by JJ Mugs...... *blech*

at work, we've got those little packs of ground coffee. one flavour is called "coffee shop" if you can believe that.

we've go the industrial sized coffee machine thing going on. although we're at yonge/bloor so decent enough shops (chains anyway) in the vicinity. still like making my own though...

this coffee talk reminds me that i went to get some beans at alternative grounds and they were all out! on the way i said hi to two messengers on fixies, one was a norco conversion w/ untaped black bullhorns, the guy had dreads. if that's anyone here, you have a nice ride!

kirin `golden hop` http://www.kirin.co.jp/brands/chilled/html/goldenhop.html
http://mt.mizba.net/files/2005-10-08/goldenhop.jpg

yebisu `malt beer` http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/yebisu.html
http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/images/yebisu.jpg

Where do you get yebisu?